Bioshock developer Irrational Games announces it’s “winding down”

In a surprise announcement on the Irrational Games website today, Irrational cofounder and creative director Ken Levine announced that the development house behind BioShock Infinite would be "winding down" as Levine moves on to start "a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at [Irrational owner] Take-Two."

"Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one," Levine wrote. "And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I’ve ever had. While I'm deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before.

"To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers," he continued. "In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience."

Levine's new endeavor will focus on "narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable," according to the announcement. It will be exclusively focused on games that are delivered digitally. More details will be announced at a later date.

All but 15 of Irrational's employees will be let go as part of the move, Levine wrote, though they will have a "period of time" to put together portfolios and apply for other opportunities within Take-Two (or find work at other companies). "There’s no great way to lay people off, and our first concern is to make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition," Levine wrote.

Boston-based Irrational formed in 1997 from the remnants of Looking Glass Studios, which worked on well-remembered PC hits including Thief and System Shock. In 2006, the company was purchased by Take-Two, where it developed both the original BioShock and BioShock Infinite (but not BioShock 2) and was briefly known as 2K Boston.

Irrational's dissolution is a bit of a shock given the critical and commercial success the studio received for BioShock Infinite just under a year ago and the pending release of that game's second bit of "Burial at Sea" downloadable content next month. The series, which has drawn a reported $500 million in revenue since launching in 2007, will remain under the control of 2K, Levine wrote, so that his new company can focus on building its own stories. "If we’re lucky, we’ll build something half as memorable as BioShock," he wrote.

Was there any explanation as to why they're shutting down instead of just finding a new person to head Irrational in Levine's place? Dismantling a successful team just because it's founder wants to do something different strikes me as highly irrational.

As a fan of game narratives, I'm all for the story-rich kind of content that Levine wants to create. But that's overshadowing the fact that the developer behind one of the most critically acclaimed titles in recent memory is essentially shutting down just 11 months after the title was released.

Levine could have left to start a new studio or venture, but he didn't -- he (or Take Two) is laying off the vast majority of the studio. This speaks to larger problems with the economics of game development, not just the move toward smaller, story-driven games. Whatever those problems are, it's becoming apparent that the current system of triple A blockbuster game development isn't sustainable.

I have little doubt that Ken Levine will create more great games for us to enjoy. The only misstep I can point to with the BioShock franchise would be the shortness of the first BioShock Infinite DLC Burial at Sea: Part 1.

Well that sucks. Although I can understand wanting out of a big organization and all the bureaucracy that goes with it...

Actually, he's creating the new branch within Take-Two. I'm not sure why they didn't leave Irrational as it's own entity and just start another small one under the Take-Two umbrella if that was what Levine was looking for. That way, the group responsible for the Bioshock series could continue and branch out as they saw fit all while Ken Levine did his own thing elsewhere in the company.

If he was breaking away from Take-Two, that would be a different story, but at this point, I don't understand the reason for the dissolution of Irrational just so Ken can work on something different.

Not sure how to feel about this news. Almost all of my all-time favorites have come from Ken and Irrational. For a while, the article lead me to believe he was just getting a smaller team together to focus on core principles (story driven gaming, as the article says).. but the closing line has left me with a pit in my stomach:

Was there any explanation as to why they're shutting down instead of just finding a new person to head Irrational in Levine's place? Dismantling a successful team just because it's founder wants to do something different strikes me as highly irrational.

It's irrational unless that team was largely built around that founder and his vision. If he was the core of Irrational and he wants to leave you'd just have a lot of floundering if you tried going on without him. It's likely that 2K will retain the most talented individuals in-house. At least they're giving the support to the people losing their jobs and not just shutting the door behind them on the way out. And at least it's the founder deciding to move on and not the publisher doing it for arbitrary market reasons.

Was there any explanation as to why they're shutting down instead of just finding a new person to head Irrational in Levine's place? Dismantling a successful team just because it's founder wants to do something different strikes me as highly irrational.

This exactly...If he's the owner...then sell the company.

If he's the manager/director/some_other_non_owner_position...then find someone to replace you. This seems like he's just firing a bunch of people for no good reason.

I guess I'm not the world's biggest BioShock fan, but 3 excellent games is enough. It's OK to leave it at that and move on to new things. I like it when a series goes out when it's on top. It helps me remember it the way I want to remember it.

As somebody who appreciates novelty in games and interesting game design, I don't really find it much of a shock at all, from Levine's perspective. Staying within the same franchise usually leads to unimaginative gameplay and stagnation (see Call of Duty). Look at the top games on steam right now, Rust and DayZ. Both games being developed by relatively small teams, around a novel paradigm (open world/unstructured multiplayer). If you were a developer looking at these new games that give people all these new and exciting means of interaction and gameplay, wouldn't you want to do something fresh and new too? I wish Levine luck and hope he creates something fantastic.

Well that sucks. Although I can understand wanting out of a big organization and all the bureaucracy that goes with it...

You must have missed the part where he is taking 15 people and continuing to work with Take Two.

Yeah, I think it would be a bit disingenuous of Levine to complain about TT/2K, given how much latitude and freedom they've given him. I'm glad to see that they're continuing to work togther.

The shift to a smaller, tighter dev team /smaller, tighter games is almost inevitable. When a team like Irrational has been working together for as long as it has, and still runs into frustrating delays and re-invents itself several times in the middle of their largest-ever project, it's almost a given that something will shake things up after the work is done (unless the publisher is issuing a 'make us a successful sequel, or else!!!' demand, at which point the creatively-exhausted people just abandon ship.) It's not really a bad thing, though; if anything, it's the best possible condition for those who are leaving to go under, and Levine's core team is being given exactly what they need to come up with a fresh idea.

$20 says he is going to start a VR team. Because there is so much still to be figured out in that realm it doesn't make sense to bring over a large full stack team of people, but rather move to a flatter experimental model.

$20 says he is going to start a VR team. Because there is so much still to be figured out in that realm it doesn't make sense to bring over a large full stack team of people, but rather move to a flatter experimental model.

Wow...that would suck. If I were a person who'd worked my ass off to get a job and I had worked in a team and made a game like Bioshock Infinite that sold really well, and I learned that I no longer had job security after putting my heart and soul into something successful - I'd feel betrayed.

I guess I'm not the world's biggest BioShock fan, but 3 excellent games is enough. It's OK to leave it at that and move on to new things. I like it when a series goes out when it's on top. It helps me remember it the way I want to remember it.

Sure, that's a positive. I'd rather not see the developer stumbled around with a bloated, hugely expensive BioShock MMO.

But aren't you a little troubled by this news? It's not like Levine left with 15 employees and started a new venture. He layed off a crapload of people and kept a handful of guys. Why? This can't just be a situation where Levin felt the urge to "move on to new things."

When you're off the radar you can do whatever you want without having shareholders tell your beancounters you're spending too much (or too little money) to get a title out.

Take 2's stock went up after this. Maybe related. Probably related. Having multiple blockbuster titles with blockbuster budgets you can only release a few per year. Come Christmas time if you have 3-4 titles eying for prime money. Something on the accounting sheets will not add up.

Wow...that would suck. If I were a person who'd worked my ass off to get a job and I had worked in a team and made a game like Bioshock Infinite that sold really well, and I learned that I no longer had job security after putting my heart and soul into something successful - I'd feel betrayed.

Programmers i seriously doubt get a % of the final profit of the game. Maybe a one time bonus when the game's done and it sells well. But in all honesty. They're already looking for the next job once the game is done.

Wow... I've heard of dismantling studios after as little as one title that didn't meet expectations, but to dismantle a studio with a proven track record?! So the article states that the Bioshock franchise has brought in 500 Million. Perhaps that was not enough for TT, necessitating this "winding down"?

I think that publishers are getting a little greedy, and their expectations are are a little too high for some games... OK, maybe I'm still a little pissed that a studio like Bizarre Creations was shut down because 1 game (Blur), their first high profile title for a new publisher, didn't meet sales expectations.

Was there any explanation as to why they're shutting down instead of just finding a new person to head Irrational in Levine's place? Dismantling a successful team just because it's founder wants to do something different strikes me as highly irrational.

My thoughts too. From a business perspective it makes no sense. There must be something we are not privy to. Essentially shutting down almost an entire development team in the wake of success does not make a lot of sense, well any sense.

Maybe profitability on the last endeavor was not great even though it sold well and was well received. Then scaling back makes sense. I think it is the reality huge segments of the game development world face.

Considering it took 6 years for Irrational games to make Bioshock Infinite which then sold less than either of it's predecessor's I'm not surprised.

something like this has to be the factor.

weird, I thought infinite got more love, including sales - which I found disappointing, because the game is a shadow compared to the original on so many levels (I am def not alone in that opinion).

Then again, virtually all franchises get lower sales as the time goes, except for that sequel that fixes an original's mistakes or when there is a fresh reimagining/new gen after some time of staleness.

And then yet again, didn't Infinite sell millions? I am getting tired of multi-million sellers being considered a "sales disappointment", on some level, by the industry.

I would take this announcement to mean that Irrational's replacement (whatever it ends up being called) simply can't afford to retain all of the current employees, going forward into this new speculative venture. It's vaguely similar to retail stores increasing the employee count in the two months right before Christmas... and then laying off a bunch of employees right after Christmas. (And obviously the employees who get to stay are not always the employees who were there to begin with.) It kind'a sucks for the people who have to leave -- but if they're any good at what they do, then they'll land on their feet elsewhere pretty quickly. After all, while "programmers" are becoming increasingly common in today's workforce, good programmers still aren't quite so easy to find.

Having played through all three BioShock games, I do look forward to seeing what becomes of Levine and co... but I'm not going to hold my breath. Likely, it'll be at least a few years before we see anything out of his new venture.

Was there any explanation as to why they're shutting down instead of just finding a new person to head Irrational in Levine's place?

Wondering the same thing. Without knowing what's really going on, looking in from the outside, it would seem incredibly selfish of Levine to simply put these people out of a job for what seem to be quite self-serving reasons.

Seems more likely that Take2 was unhappy with the investment-to-profit ratio of Infinite. Perhaps they were expecting another GTA-type franchise.

Considering it took 6 years for Irrational games to make Bioshock Infinite which then sold less than either of it's predecessor's I'm not surprised.

something like this has to be the factor.

I also think that this move has something to do with the commercial performance of Bioshock Infinite.

It'll be interesting what his new, slimmer team will be able to come up with...story-wise, Bioshock Infinite was pretty awesome. But the gameplay was lacking..I got tired of shooting every moving thing under the sun in that game after about 3 hours. There should have been more exploration in that game and less shooting, imho.

"As for those of you who spent $20 on the Bioshock Infinite Season Pass, well, sorry."

Not sure isn't there like the three dlc that came or are comming out. That's not a bad deal then

After reading an article on how aaa games cost 100+ million it's amazing to see how much people comaign about 20 bucks. What is the cost of the development team per month. Where is the money that pays their salary come from. The office color photocopier.

"As for those of you who spent $20 on the Bioshock Infinite Season Pass, well, sorry."

Not sure isn't there like the three dlc that came or are comming out. That's not a bad deal then

After reading an article on how aaa games cost 100+ million it's amazing to see how much people comaign about 20 bucks. What is the cost of the development team per month. Where is the money that pays their salary come from. The office color photocopier.

The solution is to spend less money on development, not insist that the customer pay more and then feel grateful for the privilege.

It's not like Levine left with 15 employees and started a new venture. He layed off a crapload of people and kept a handful of guys. Why? This can't just be a situation where Levin felt the urge to "move on to new things."

If Take Two still needs their skills, they should have no problem keeping their job.

But Levine obviously doesn't need their services - at this stage of development of his next game - so why keep them on payroll when he has nothing for them to do?

Not trolling. I work in semiconductor manufacturing, and have - thankfully - survived a few lay-offs where I work. I hate the game, not the players.

I'm just glad to see they are giving people some advance notice, and a chance to evaluate what they want to do - unlike the no-advance-notice layoffs that are the norm in my industry.

I don't think it's terrible. It's certainly unexpected, but Levine is trying to do right by former employees (maybe).

The essential issue is that hte gaming industry is a show business industry. You can have very regular work like CSI or talk show TV shows do (Madden, Disney, Nintendo) or you get blockbusters that can go for years and then get shut down (such as, say, the Pirates movie production crew). The difference is that I'm sure there was no expectation of being shut down at Irrational. It's not too surprising, I hope, Irrational was driven by one guy's vision across many years and that was always going to be an iffy thing, only instead of a large profile failure driving this, it's a large profile success.

Thing is, it seems terrible that they're successful and then they shut down, but we know their success is dependent on one guy, and he wants to do something else. And smaller scale stuff is probably more appropriate for him, given this (probably horrible for many people) outcome.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area.